The Cabin
by rationalbookworm
Summary: AU. Part of The New Frontier (read first - takes place after ch. 15) McCoy takes everyone to his cabin in the woods to recoup, but with that many people in a small space, hidden truths are bound to come to light.
1. Chapter 1

**Yay! the first chapter to my friend's story! For those of you who don't know, this story comes after chapter fifteen in my story The New Frontier. My friend decided to write about what happened during their vacation since I didn't want to. It would have taken too much time and gone too far off the main plotline. So here's her version.**

**Originally the first chapter was much longer, but I cut it up into two so it wouldn't be too long. The second chapter should be up soon.**

**Disclaimer: Neither I nor my friend have any rights to Star Trek. We are poor people who simply enjoy writing and using these characters for fun.**

Hayley plopped her bag into the trunk of McCoy's black SUV and turned around to see Mikaela groggily walking down the pathway with three large bags. Hayley rolled her eyes, knowing she should have suspected the large amount of luggage Mikaela would bring. As Kirk finished loading his things into the trunk, he turned, startled to see Mikaela standing inches away from him with her luggage held in front of her as an offering. "Kaela." He sighed heavily. "I should have known." He grabbed one bag and began to load, far too tired to argue. She dropped the rest of her bags on the ground, fidgeting with random bags to keep them from tumbling over. Once she was convinced all bags were steady, she shuffled over to Hayley. Mikaela was about to open her mouth to say a sarcastic good morning when Daneel practically jumped on her back and said it for her.

"Good morning, sister!" She said as loudly as she could, wrapping her arms around Mikaela simply because it would annoy her.

Mikaela and Hayley both cringed. "Morning." They groaned, hoping that Daneel hadn't disturbed anyone too badly with her noise.

"You know, there are some lucky people out there still trying to sleep." Hayley questioned.

"Oh, they'll be fine." Daneel defended. They continued to bicker lightly due to sleep deprivation. But Mikaela didn't notice.

McCoy was walking backwards from the other group, reassuring himself that everyone had a ride and was set. Sulu would drive his car with Chekov, Elba, Zooey, Vi, and Scotty while McCoy drove Kirk, Hayley, Spock, Mikaela, and Daneel. He took another big sip of his coffee and lazily turned around, jogging back to the SUV. Mikaela caught herself staring with a groggy, little smile and stopped herself as he came closer.

"We all ready to go?" He asked, eager to get going before it got too late. The drive to his cabin would be about four hours, excluding stops; which were almost guaranteed to happen.

Kirk loaded the last of the bags into the trunk and grunted out a "yeah" as he closed the door.

Spock, who had joined them when McCoy had returned, graciously opened the door for Hayley, "Why thank you." She joked. Spock stood there and waited for Mikaela to follow.

"Oh um, I was going to sit up front," She explained slowly, obviously trying to think of the rest. "Because I get car sick when I'm in back."

"No you don't." Hayley interrupted.

"Yes, I do." She quickly defended.

Hayley thought about it for a few seconds. "You've never gotten car sick before." She teased, making the situation as difficult as she could for Mikaela.

"Right, because I'm always in front." She countered with slight attitude.

"You can sit in front." McCoy casually said as he walked around to the driver's seat, obviously not paying attention to the details of their little debate.

"Okay." She smiled at Hayley.

"Whatever." Hayley responded, rolling her eyes.

Mikaela continued to grin widely as she opened the front passenger's door and began to step in. Suddenly, Daneel swooped past her and sat in the middle seat, next to McCoy. She smiled mischievously at her older sister. Mikaela's eye twitched in offense.

Hayley leaned forward to Mikaela. "That's what you get for sticking Kirk back here with us." She whispered. Mikaela raised her eyebrows. "Karma's a bitch." Hayley added.

Mikaela paused to think about it, and then rolled her eyes in agreement. "A big one." Defeated, she hopped into the car. Kirk uncomfortably squished back next to Hayley, completely disturbing her as he attempted to get comfortable. Mikaela stared in amusement. "I'd say we're about even." Kirk stopped squirming and looked up in confusion. "What?" Mikaela asked, successfully playing off that they weren't talking about him. He shook his head as if to say "nothing".

* * *

They drove for an hour: Hayley dead asleep on Spock's shoulder, Spock patiently listening to Daneel excitedly babble on about who knows what, Mikaela trying desperately to tune out the sound of her sister's voice, Kirk staring almost worriedly by the bizarre combination of behaviors, and McCoy seemingly concentrated on the road and in his own little world of thoughts.

Most of them had skipped breakfast to trade for those few extra minutes of sleep. Consequently, they stopped for brunch soon. The pit stop diner was not where McCoy wanted to stop. It was a little rundown shack in the middle of nowhere, where truck drivers and wanderers stopped. The paint was chipping on the walls outside and there was nothing but dirt surrounding. Big, gotti Harley motorcycles were parked out front. He didn't feel comfortable taking the girls there, but he had no choice. This was the only restaurant from here to the cabin.

The door to the restaurant screeched as he gently swung the door open. "Great" he thought when they walked in and saw the obvious owners of the motorcycles. Those types always made him nervous, especially around here. He recognized those particular men. They'd gained a reputation for causing trouble on this highway.

McCoy convinced the group to sit close to the door and away from the biker's sitting in the corner near the bathroom and emergency exit. He was sure to subtly arrange the seating so that he and Kirk were seated at the edges of the table.

Only moments after everyone ordered, three bikers approached. One man slammed his hand on the table in front of Zooey. He was all around large and the hand that was slapped on the table was dirty. Zooey's expression was a mixture of disgust and fright. In her defense, he was a very intimidating man. "Hey." He greeted with the voice of a slimy toad on top of sandpaper. His breath was unpleasant and unpleasantly close to her face. "You ever been on a motorcycle?"

"No." She said, accidentally letting the disgust slip through her tone.

"How about you come sit with us. You won't have to worry." He said to the rest of them and turned back to her, "We'll take real good care of you, show you a good time." He continued as he reached to stroke her arm that was crossed tightly in front of her.

"Don't touch her!" Mikaela automatically snapped, speaking for Zooey, who under normal circumstances could have and would have said it herself. She didn't want to say anything more to this man.

He turned his head to Mikaela, who was now scrunching down in her seat. "You can come too, baby. I'm sure you'll be loads of fun." He taunted as he glanced down to stare at her breasts.

McCoy had been biting his tongue until now. "Why don't you guys go back to your seats, huh? We're just trying to enjoy our food." He said so sternly and calmly, you could see the anger seeping through his eyes; with just a touch of back handed friendliness. The girls had never seen McCoy this upset.

"So are we." The man said tossing his hands in the air almost as a challenge. "Besides, I don't see any lunch on this table." He added equalizing the tension that was quickly rising.

"Hey!" A gritty voice yelled from behind the kitchen bar. "That's your last warning. You know what's going to happen next time." The cook threatened as he placed his hand on the phone that was hanging on the wall next to him. The three bikers gave one last look to the girls and then to McCoy before they walked back to their seats in annoyance with their chests puffed out. McCoy nodded to the cook in thanks and proceeded to death-glare towards the bikers' table. He almost never took his eyes off of them. In fact, he probably could have memorized their every action.

The mood of their table slightly lightened as they forgot about the bikers that is, until Daneel randomly blurted out, bringing it up again. "Let it go, Daneel." Kirk insisted, trying to get her to keep her voice down.

"No! They're douche-bags." McCoy and Mikaela both put their faces in their palms while Hayley and Scotty chuckled. Daneel was suddenly quiet. "I'll be back. I have to go to the bathroom." She said with a smirk as she crawled under the table and into the isle. On her way to the restroom, Daneel walked past the bikers' table, which was being served. She slyly and stealthily bumped the waitress enough for her to spill everything on them. She quickly rushed into the restroom after hearing the loud crash.

Everyone in the diner looked to the bikers as they all stood up, yelling and avoiding the spill of food and drinks. Hayley cringed and muttered, "I really hate your sister sometimes."

Mikaela stared, her face flushed with embarrassment. "We all do." She sighed.

Upset and in a fit, the biker's stormed out of the diner, taking one last stare down with McCoy as they opened the door and exited. After a few minutes their motorcycles started roaring away. McCoy and the rest let out a relieved sigh. Shortly, Daneel returned to the table and smiled as the rest glared at her.

"Notice she didn't come out of the bathroom until she could hear them drive away." Mikaela gave an unamused smirk. Daneel chuckled a single chuckle and dropped her expression, realizing the trouble she was in.

* * *

After receiving their food, they ate quickly to make up for the time that was spent dealing with the bikers. On their way out, McCoy left a large tip to hopefully atone for all the trouble they caused and waved to the cook apologetically. They exited the diner, retreated to their respective cars, and happily got the hell out of there.

Everyone, now more awake and not grumpy, made the car much louder and in general more fun. Most were almost as equally energized as Daneel was earlier, laughing and poking fun at each other like usual.

"I have to pee!" Daneel blurted out.

"What?" Kirk asked in frustration and confusion.

"I have to go to the bathroom." She repeated.

"You shouldn't have had that giant milkshake." Mikaela scorned.

"I know, but it was so good!" She emphasized.

Hayley laughed. "Yeah, she's definitely your sister."

Mikaela opened her mouth to protest, but she had a point.

"Okay." McCoy said looking at his fuel tank indicator. "I have to get gas anyway." They pulled off at the next gas station.

As McCoy got out to fill up the tank, Daneel literally and obnoxiously climbed over her sister and out of the car. Mikaela instantly scooted to the middle seat, partly to get out of Daneel's way, but mainly to steal the spot next to McCoy. Hayley cleared her throat and Mikaela spun around. They looked at each other for a couple seconds. Hayley had an obvious judgmentally teasing expression on her face. Mikaela slowly turned back around as she could feel herself beginning to smile. "Smooth." Hayley sarcastically pointed out, confusing both of the guys next to her, who were of course paying no attention.

After a few minutes, Daneel returned. "Hey!" She said when she realized her spot was taken. Mikaela made an ugly face at her in rebuttal.

McCoy finished pumping the gas and opened the door. He stopped and grinned when he saw Mikaela smiling brightly back at him in the seat next to his. He sat down and started the car, glancing over to her, both still smiling, her now more bashfully and him now more widely. It felt good now knowing how much she wanted to sit by him. He should have casually winked, but he didn't. His mind wasn't exactly working the way he wanted it to.


	2. Chapter 2

**As promised here is chapter two! Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything...**

Mikaela was turned around, deep in an excited conversation with Hayley. McCoy glanced over at Mikaela, who did obviously not need to look at the road. She wasn't going to get car sick any time soon. A smile twitched across his lips again as he tried to hold it back and focus his concentration to the road.

As the energy died down and everyone began to become bored, the car suddenly started stuttering and slowing. "Oh come on." McCoy muttered as his eyes searched the dashboard and gears to find the problem. Giving up, he pulled the car off of the road.

"What's going on?" Daneel asked cautiously.

"I don't know." McCoy responded with his voice a mix of disappointment and frustration as he shut off the car and got out. The passengers looked around at each other and back to the car pool behind them while McCoy popped open the hood to figure out the problem. There were a few minutes of silence as he rummaged through the hood. "Damn it, Daneel." He said just loud enough for them to hear. They all stared at her. She stared back.

"What?"

"What did you do?" Mikaela asked seriously.

"Nothing!" She defended. They continued to stare, expecting her to change her answer. "I swear."

Mikaela waved her off and crawled to the driver's window. "Is everything okay?" She asked hesitantly, poking her head out the window.

The hood shook a little as McCoy lifted his head and hit the back of it. She barely heard him mutter a few profanities before he walked around to the side of the car. "It's going peachy." Her said sarcastically as he walked and knelt down to stick his head under the car to reconfirm his prediction. She heard him groan in growing frustration. "Damn it." He cursed to himself. She watched with her head hanging out the window, though all she could see were his legs hanging out from under the car.

He shuffled himself out from under the car and stood up. In that time, Mikaela had leaned herself more out of the window with her arms crossed under her chest. McCoy awkwardly averted his eyes trying not to notice. "So?" Mikaela asked hopefully. He took in a breath and gave her a disappointed look as he waved to the other car for help.

He looked up to the sky, evaluating the time. The day was already halfway over and they still had a little ways to go before they'd arrive at the cabin. He glanced around at the bare scenery for a solution while he waited for Sulu to meet him. They were parked on the road, next to a ranch with a small house in the distance. McCoy saw an elderly man farming in the middle of the large field. For some reason his memory just now clicked and he remembered this ranch. It confused him why he didn't recognize it earlier. "What's the problem?" Sulu asked as he walked up with his hands in his pockets. By his body language, he obviously wasn't too worried.

McCoy stepped away from the car slightly as if to guide the conversation more privately to Sulu. "Oil leak, I think." He said breaking the news. "Remember the bikers at the diner?"

"Yeah." He chuckled slightly at the remembrance.

"Well, they must not have liked Daneel's little prank." They looked at each other and then looked at Daneel through the car window.

"Is that you Leonard Horatio McCoy?" The elderly rancher who was in the field called as he jogged down to them. McCoy heard snickers coming from inside the car.

"Hortatio?" He heard Daneel exclaim in surprise. "Ow." She muttered, probably from a slap on the arm.

"Hey, Mr. Willis." He replied, struggling to be polite from the unnecessary usage of his middle name.

"It's been quite a while now, son." Mr. Willis said in a jolly voice as he stopped his jog and patted McCoy's back. Mr. Willis was a short, stout man; especially so standing next to McCoy. He was balding and wore a plaid long sleeved shirt that was tucked into his pants and kept in by a big brass belt buckle. "Hi, there. Dale Willis." He introduced himself to Sulu with a firm two handed shake.

"Yes, Sir. It has." McCoy answered with a routine politeness that seemed to be engrained into him. Mr. Willis was like a distant uncle to McCoy. The Willis's were good family friends of his parents and often took care of him as a child. When McCoy moved out to California they were there to support him, even though they saw him only about once every five years.

The two of them made small talk and caught up the past ten years or so. McCoy was a part of Starfleet now. Mr. Willis was proud. McCoy was no longer married to his "dear" and "sweet" wife. He's now one of those "distinguished doctor types" as Mr. Willis put it in his old Georgian accent. After another minute, they finally got down to business.

"Looks like you folks got yourselves a little car trouble." Mr. Willis said pointing to the two cars that were pulled off to the side of the road.

McCoy looked back and scratched his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, we were heading up to my cabin and got an oil leak."

"Oh, well I can fix that up for you in a jiffy. I wouldn't want you to delay that adventure any longer." He offered happily.

"Are you sure it's not too much trouble?" He asked in all seriousness.

"Probably about an hour or so's worth. It'll be up and running in no time," he paused and squinted his eyes, "for a price." He added, rubbing his hands with his handkerchief and looking slyly up at him. Possibly due to McCoy's nerves being already strung tightly by the day's events, for a moment he was almost considering taking Mr. Willis up on a price. "I'm just kidding." He finally said with a laugh and a gentle slug on McCoy's shoulder. "Why don't everyone come inside and we can find something for you all to do while you wait."

"Thank you."

"Any time, my boy." He gave one last pat on the shoulder and headed back to the house in the distance. With a sigh of relief, McCoy nodded and waved for the two cars to unload and follow Mr. Willis. He waited and watched as everyone passed him. Daneel rushed to be the first following with Mikaela firmly interlocked in her arm. Hayley and Spock walked side by side while Vi, Scotty, and Chekov followed. Elba lingered behind, stumbling at the end of the gravel and onto the dirt. Kirk who was still in the process of getting out of the car gave him a not so gentle pat on the shoulder. "Good job, Bones. Didn't doubt you for a second." He said, eyeing the back of Zooey and ran to catch up with her.

"Thanks, Jim." He muttered sarcastically and rolled his eyes, rubbing his shoulder from the excessive patting. Sulu smirked at Kirk as the two of them followed behind the rest of the group. Mrs. Willis met them half way. She squealed as she rushed through the group of people to give McCoy a hug.

"Hello, Mrs. Willis." He chuckled. Mrs. Willis looked oddly similar to Mr. Willis. She was short and stout with white curly hair on top of her head and she was equally as jolly as her husband.

"Boy, I have missed you." She continued to squeal. "Now, I've been hearing all about your time with Starfleet from your mother, with you being a cadet and a nurse," She continued excitedly.

"Actually, Mrs. Willis, I'm a doctor now. I have been for a few years, Chief Medical Officer on the U.S.S. Enterprise."

She paused and stared sternly at him. "Well now I'd have known that if you'd call every now and then." She scorned. "So, what brings you and all your friends back here?" She asked as if she had just noticed the others standing there.

He thought for a second to find the right words. "We're on shore leave right now so we're going up to the cabin."

"Oh how fun." She squealed again. "And Dale is fixing up the car?"

He paused for a split second, confused as to how she already knew and decided not to question it. "Yeah. We had a minor bump in the road." He confirmed with a slight smile on his face. He figured the bump in the road was just his luck.

"Well, that's alright." She comforted. "Let's get everyone inside, have something to drink and some snacks so you can all relax until it's ready." She said as she guiding everyone into the house.

In the middle of the group, Kirk stopped in his tracks before they even got to the porch. He looked to the left at the stable.

"God damn it, Kirk!" Hayley blurted as she bumped into him from the sudden stop.

Mrs. Willis quickly turned around to see what all the commotion was and noticed Kirk's stare. She did a quick double take to the stable. "Son?" She asked. "Do you like horses?"

"Uh, yeah." He responded hesitantly, debating whether or not to ask about riding them.

"Oh, that would be a great idea!" She squealed. "Why don't you all go for a ride while Dale is fixing up the car."

"Oh no." Elba muttered. "I can't ride a horse." She said backing away.

"Yeah," Vi added in, "I don't really do well with" She took a moment searching for the right words, "farm animals." Naturally, Scotty went along with her.

"Well then you folks can help me set up for a snack when they get back." Mrs. Willis encouraged. "Leonard, I'm sure the horses remember you. How about you take care of everything, honey."

"Yes, ma'am." He said kindly.

"I think I will stay behind too." Chekov said. "me and horses…we are not friends."

Daneel waited for the five of them to go inside and the others to start over to the stable. Too impatient, Daneel yelled out, "Last one there's a moldy cheese!" They all paused for a moment at the strangeness of her sentence before running after her.

McCoy, Kirk, Spock, and surprisingly Daneel took easily to getting on the horses. The three men properly got on and almost compassionately pet the horses' mane, knowing the importance of connecting with the horse, while Daneel practically leaped onto the horse. Luckily she picked the feistiest horse which was able to handle her energy. Sulu, on the other hand was surprisingly awkward with his horse. "I would have thought you'd be good at riding, Sulu." Kirk called over with a snarky tone.

Sulu chuckled. "Yeah, well looks can be deceiving." He muttered, trying to navigate the horse out of the stable.

McCoy joined in the taunting. "You can steer a ship but you can't steer a horse?" He smiled at his witty comment.

"A ship is a machine, a horse in an animal. They are two very different things." Sulu responded quickly. Mikaela and Hayley looked at each other with raised eyebrows in amusement at the teasing that was going on.

Along with Sulu, Zooey was also slightly awkward with the horse but she easily covered it with her confidence. Only Mikaela and Hayley noticed. They looked to each other one last time in anticipation before attempting to get on their horses. With a countdown, both stepped into the stirrup and stumbled right out of it at the same time. But eventually after a few tries they were on and all were off on the ride.

Not ten minutes into the ride, everyone had pretty much gotten a handle on the horses and the Willis's house and stable were far into the distance. Kirk was even farther ahead of the group while Sulu lingered behind the rest, still struggling to control his horse.

Mikaela had never ridden a horse before and felt awkward and uncomfortable. She began to shift around, searching for a better position, moving and pausing and moving every few seconds. She scooted herself to the side, confusing the horse and making her bounce in place for a bit. "No, no." Mikaela muttered to the horse as she leaned her body forward to keep from falling. "It's okay; I was just trying to adjust myself." She tried to comfort the horse. She slowly continued to move as Mikaela gradually sat back up. Moments later, Mikaela tried to reposition once again. This time her foot got caught in the stirrup and she completely lost balance. She yelped as she landed ass first onto the ground, her leg in the air and foot still in the stirrup. "Ow." She moaned to herself.

Everyone in close ear range got off their horses to see what happened. Mikaela heard a giggle from her sister. She closed her eyes and ignored it, focusing on the pain. "What happened?" Hayley chuckled. Mikaela groaned in response, not ready to explain. Unsatisfied with a groan for an answer, Hayley turned to the horse and said, "What happened, horsie?" She taunted. The horse looked back at Mikaela and huffed almost in response.

"She just fell off!" They heard Sulu explain from behind them. They all stared at her to confirm that that's what happened, either in shock or amusement. She couldn't tell which.

"Well," She began, really not wanting to admit what happened, "I was trying to readjust myself 'cause I couldn't get comfortable and my foot got stuck," She gestured to the stirrup, "and I lost my balance and just…yeah." She trailed off, too embarrassed to continue.

In a glance, Mikaela saw the devious expression that was growing on Hayley's face. "Hey, Bones!" Hayley called over. Mikaela's eyes widened. "Maybe you should come take a look at her to make sure she didn't injure anything."

"Oh no, no. I'm fine." Mikaela quickly defended and tried to get herself up. But the good doctor was already on his way to her.

"No, don't get up yet." He said gently guiding her back to the ground. "How did you land and where does it hurt?" He asked, now fully in doctor mode.

"On my hands, back, and ass, and all of that hurts plus my ankle a little, but mostly my ass." She said unfortunately, wishing it had nothing to do with her rear.

"Okay, let me see your hands." He said holding out his. She obliged and cringed with every touch of inspection he did. He gently set her hands down and took his scanner out of his pocket.

Mikaela scooted her head back in confusion. "You keep that in your pocket all the time?"

He paused. "Yes…just in case." He explained, knowing that it was weird. But he knew it'd come in handy sometime. He finished scanning and held her face as gently as he could to check her eye dilation. He got slightly distracted for a split second looking into her eyes. He took in a slow subtle breath and his heart rate became more noticeable. He quickly caught himself before anyone could notice and put his scanner back in his pocket. "Well, um, that's about all I can do until we get back to the house and get you some medicine. And I can't really examine your…ass. So," He cleared his throat in attempts to cover his growing awkwardness.

"Why not?" Hayley interrupted. "you do it all the time." She smirked, happy with that fact that she spilled the beans. Everyone was in shock that she said that except for Daneel, who of course found it hilarious, and Spock, who just raised his eyebrow slightly. McCoy struggled to take in a breath as his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. He turned to Hayley in a mix of shock and betrayal, waiting for her to explain herself. "Oops." She smiled widely. "Was I not supposed to say that?" He slowly turned back to Mikaela, dreading her reaction. He gulped. He couldn't read her. Just like everyone else, her eyebrows were raised and her eyes were wide. She could be angry, amused, disgusted, or a million other things that worried him.

"I…don't…" He tried to explain stumbling over his words. "um…I…" Her expression grew as she watched him stumble. One eyebrow raised even higher and she glanced around, tucking in her lips. Just digging himself deeper, he switched back to the subject. "We should head back and have Mrs. Willis give you some light pain killers. But it's going to hurt for a while. You're probably pretty bruised. I'm sorry." He apologized partially for her pain and partially for the truth behind Hayley's comment.

"It's okay." She said meekly, looking around at everyone, who was still staring, then back at him. There was a long silence.

"Wow." Zooey elongated unenthusiastically judging the whole situation as she slowly turned her horse around to head back.

Ignoring her, McCoy continued. "Besides," He directed towards everyone else. "Mr. Willis will probably be done with the car soon."


End file.
